Gifted students would graduate sooner under plan

a TALLAHASSEE (AP) -- Florida could save $32 million and gifted students could get a college degree in three years under a plan House Speaker Tom Feeney proposed Thursday.

The measure affects the Bright Futures Scholarship program but wouldn't reduce the amount of money students receive each semester or make the scholarships more difficult to get.

Feeney, R-Oviedo, came up with the idea following moves by two state senators to block any effort to shrink scholarship amounts or tighten eligibility.

But it may not be enough.

Senate Education Chairman Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, said he would support an independent initiative to reduce the time needed to earn a college degree to three years -- but not one linked to Bright Futures.

Bright Futures has grown from $75 million four years ago to an estimated $200 million this year. And every time university tuitions and fees rise, so does the state's Bright Futures burden.

Under Feeney's proposal the students earning the biggest Bright Futures scholarships would take tests in English, math, the humanities, the natural sciences and social sciences as they enter college.

Those who pass would get college credits and be exempted from having to complete certain courses. Passing all five tests could shave a year from the time it takes to graduate.

Feeney estimates about half the 33,000 students who took the new tests would pass. After deducting the cost of testing, the state would save about $32 million.

''In a lean budget year, the House has creatively found a way to ensure that the Bright Futures Scholarship program has the funding necessary to help Florida's student citizens flourish in the future,'' Feeney said in a release issued by his office.